Apparatus for cleaning cylinder heads or the like



F. C. AREY Dec. 24, 1940.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 17, 19:58

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 @wma/L7,

Dec. 24, 1940. F. C. AREY 2,225,946

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE 6 Sheets-Sheetl 2 Filed Jan. 17, 19:58

DEC. 24, F C. AREY APPARA'IUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 1'7, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 F. C. AREY. 2,225,946

APPARATUS FQR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE Dec. 24, 1940.

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jap. 1,7. 19158 Dec. 24, 1940. F C, AREYv 2,225,946

, APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 17, 1958 e sheets-sheet s Dec. 24, 1940. F. c. AREY,

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE Filed Jan. 17, 1958 6 Sheets-Sheec 6 Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CYLINDER HEADS OR THE LIKE sylvania Application January 17, 1938, Serial No. 185,292

Claims.

In the Arey and Hibner application, Serial No. 141,484, there is disclosed an apparatus for cleaning the oil and metal chips from motor blocks; and inY another Arey and Hibner application, Se-

5 rial No. 183,760, iiledon the '7th day of January, 1938, entitled Automatic motor block cleaner, there is illustrated a similar apparatus which automatically performs a cleaning cycle following a single manualcontrolling operation.

Theobject of the present invention is to apply the principles embodied in the apparatus of the aforesaid applications to an apparatus handling objects that require a somewhat dilerent treatment from cylinder blocks..

- For example, a cylinder head in the form of a hollow casting, ther interior of which constitutes a water chamber, may require not only the removal of oil and chips, after the machining operation', but also a thorough washing out of the interior.. One of the purposes of the present invention is to provide means for quickly and eifectively to washA objects such as a cylinder head of this kind, and like things, as well as remove oil and chips left by machining operations.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and'advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side View of an apparatus embodying the present invention, a portion of the side wall of the; housing in which the cleaning is done being broken away; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the apparatus on a somewhat smaller scale than Fig. l; Fig. 31 is a view similar tov Fig. l, showing only a small fragmentof the apparatus, but on a larger scale than Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a front View of one corner of the apparatus on the same scale as Fig. 3, being a view looking toward the right from the lefthand side of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectio-n on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. but on a still larger scale; Fig. 6 is a side View of the receiving station at the front end of the apparatus, on a larger scale than Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a rear View, similar to Fig. 2,. but on. a larger scale and showing only a small fragment of the apparatus; Fig.

8 is a diagrammatic View of the controlling valve which causes the door of the housing to open and close; Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale and showing the door of the housing open; Fig, 10 is a section on the 5,-, same scale as Fig. 9, taken on line llllll of showing a fragment of this wall and the pilot 101 Valves that control the delivery of the two different cleaning fluids that are employed; Fig. 14 is a section through a cylinder head positioned in the cage in which it is held while being cleaned.4

and showing cleaning jets being discharged upon I5..

the head; and Fig. l5 is a diagram of electrical' connections.

Referring to the drawings, I` represents a lcasing or housing, similar to those in the aforesaid applications, whose front side is open and is pro- 20 vided with a vertically slidable door 2. In front of the housing is a receiving station having a horizontalplatform 3. In rear of the housing is another horizontal platform 4. Within the housing is a holder in the form of a cage extending 25V,

from front to rear and rotatable aloout a horizontal axis at right angles to the rear wall of the housing. The front end of the cage is open, and the parts are so arranged that when the door is raised a piece of work can be slid from 30.

the receiving station directly into the cage or from the cage back upon the receiving station.

The cage is composed partly of tubular jetting elements and partly of a framework. The rear end of the cage is carried by a conduit 5 of con- 35 siderable diameter which may be regarded as a hollow journal or shaft for the cage. As will hereinafter be explained, the cleaning fluids are delivered through the member 5. In the particular arrangement shown, there are six tubular 40.

jetting elements, as indicated at 6, 1, 8, 9, IIJ and i l. These are. all horizontal and parallel to each other, namely parallel to the axis of rotation of the cage. The end of the hollow journal 5 within the housing has two oppositely disposed radial 45 arms or branches I 3 and l 4. The rear ends of the elements E, 'l and 8 are bent laterally and joined to the arm i3, while the rear ends of the elements 9, l0 and I l are bent laterally and joined to the arm I4. 'Ihe elements 6 to Il, inclusive, 50 maybe provided with nozzles, orifices or other jetting devices to provide for the delivery of jets of cleaningA fluid at every point desired. For example, as shown in Fig. 14, the tubes 6 and l may each have orices so arranged as to discharge diverging jets I5 toward a cylinder head A arranged in the cage; the tubes or pipes 9 and III may each discharge a single row of jets toward the cylinder head, as indicated at I6 and I1; the member 8 may have small radial extensions I8 adapted to discharge jets I9 into the chamber a in the head; and the member II may have projecting, finger-like tubular elements 20 adapted to discharge rows of jets 2l in the direction of the work.

Surrounding the group of tubular members 6 to II, is an open-work frame structure comprising four longitudinal bars 22 and transverse connecting pieces; the latter being arranged in groups each of which constitutes a rectangular frame 24 surrounding and engaging all four of the longitudinal bars. In the arrangement shown there are three of these rectangular frames, one at each end of the cage and one in the middle. The rearmost frame 24 is supported from the jetting elements 6, 1, I0 and I I; each of these elements having a rigid rod or arm 2'5 welded thereto and to the adjacent member of the frame 24. The front end of the framework of the cage is supported externally, the front frame 24 carrying a large ring 26 whose center is at the axis of the cage. In the bottom of the housing, near the sides, are two rollers 21 and 28 whose axes are parallel to the axis of the cage. The ring 26 rests on both of these rollers, being held down by the weight of the cage and the work therein and being held against lateral displacement by reason of the fact that the lower side of the ring extends well below the two rollers.

Means must be provided to permit the cylinder head to be easily moved into and out of the cage and to be properly positioned in the latter relatively to the jetting devices. In the arrangement shown, there are two rows of rollers 29 and 3U, extending from front to rear of the cage; these rows being so located that in one angular position of the cage the plane of the top of the receiving station 3 is tangent to all of these rollers at the highest points on the latter. Thus, a cylinder head may be slid off the receiving station onto the rollers 29 and 30.

Within the cage I have shown four longitudinal guiding and locating bars 32, 33, 34 and 35. Each of these bars is supported from the corresponding members of the frames 24 by suitable brackets 36. The arrangement is such that the bars 32 and 33 engage with the opposite face of the head from that which rests on the rollers 29 and 3D, while the bars 34 and 35 lie on opposite sides of the head.

In the use of the apparatus, a piece of work is placed in the cage, the door of the housing is closed, and the cage with its contents is rotated; cleaning fluid being delivered to the jetting elements through the hollow journal and discharged against the Work. Where one of the fluids is a liquid, the turning of the work insures the emptying of the liquid from any chambers or pockets which may exist in the Work. Where one of the cleaning fluids is a liquid, it should be delivered first so that when followed by compressed air or other gaseous material, a complete drying of the dampened surface will be effected. After the cage has made a predetermined number of revolutions, the door of the housing is preferably opened automatically, so that the work may be withdrawn to the receiving platform. The entire cycle of operations, after the closing of the door upon the manipulation of a manual controller, to the subsequent opening of the door, should be automatic, and mechanisms have been provided to this end. These mechanisms are only slightly different from those disclosed in the more recent of the aforesaid applications and will therefore be described only briefly except where differences exist.

The hollow journal 5 is supported for rotation by a head 31 in rear of the housing and above the rear platform 4, in a manner common in well known forms of soot blowers. A short section of pipe 38 of large diameter rises from the head and is connected at its upper end through a T 39 with supply pipes 40 and 4I, respectively. The pipe 40 may be assumed to supply water under a sufficient head and the pipe 4I to deliver air under pressure. The pipe 40 contains a main valve 43, and the pipe 4I a main valve 44. These main valves are controlled respectively by pilot valves and 46 within and at the rear of the housing, and shown in Fig. 13; the casing of each piiot valve being connected to the corresponding main valve casing by piping 41. These features, including the rock shafts 48 and 49 for controlling the pilot valves, are the same as the corresponding features in our last mentioned application. The rock shafts 48 and 49 are actuated, as is the rotatable cage, by energy derived from an electric motor 50 mounted on the platform 4; the shaft 5I of this motor driving a counter-shaft 52 through a suitable sprocket chain drive 54. The counter-shaft has thereon a pinion 55 that meshes with a gear wheel 56 surrounding and xed to the hollow journal 5, so that whenever the motor is running, the work-holding cage is caused to revolve. The counter-shaft has thereon a second pinion, 51 that meshes with a gear wheel 58 Xed to a cam shaft 59. This cam shaft, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, and also in Fig. 7, has thereon two cams 60 and 6I. These cams are simply plates, each of such a contour that its edge consists of two arc-shaped sections of different radii, namely high and low cam sections. The rock shaft 48,which controls the deliveryofwater, has on its rear end a radial arm 63 provided with a roller 64 that rests on the periphery of the cam 6I, while the other rock shaft is provided at its rear end with a radial arm 65 having thereon a roller 66 that rests on the edge of the cam 60. When the cam rollers are engaged with the portions of small radii of their respective cams, as shown in Fig. 7, both of the main valves are closed, but as soon as either cam roller rides up upon the high section of its cam, the corresponding main valve is caused to open. It will be seen that the section of large radius of the cam 6I is short, while the corresponding section of the cam 60 is quite long. It will also be seen that while the two cam rollers may both rest on the low portions of their cams at the same time, they cannot both rest on the high portions of their cams at the same time.

Assuming that the cam shaft revolves in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. '1, when the motor is running, it will be seen that the cam roller 64 rides up on the high portion of the cam 6I as soon as the motor starts, while the cam roller 66 remains on the low section of its cam. After the cam shaft has turned far enough to permit the roller 64 to drop down on the low part of the cam 6I, the roller 66 rides up on the high section of cam 6U and remains there until the cam shaft has completed a revolution and the motor stops. It will thus be seen that because the high section of the cam 6I is short, the main valve in the water pipe remains open for a shorter cleaning operationchasv been completed andthe time than itr remains; closed.4 On thel other hand', the high section of cam 6U islonger thanthe, low section, and therefore the main air: valve remains open for a greater partr of a revolution of the cam shaft than the part during which it remains closed. In the mechanism illustrated, the air valve remains open twice as long as does the water valve, but this proportion may be varied at will by suitably shaping the cams. l0 The motor must not start while the door ofl the housing remains open and should start automatically upon the closing of the door. Likewise, the door should open automatically when the cleaning operation has been performed. Thedoor` is operated by a piston within a vertical cylinder 61 rising from the top or"` the housing .behind the planeof the door. The piston has a rod 68 extending downwardly behind the door and secured at its lowerend to a bracket 69 fastened to the lowerend of the door. The lower end of the cylinder may be supplied with air under pressure or exhausted through a pipe lwhile the upper end of the cylinder may be energized or exhausted through a pipe 1|. These two pipes are connected to a valve casing 'l2 below the platform of the receiving station. Adr under pressure is admitted from :any suitable source into the valve casing through a pipe 14, and there is also an exhaust pipe l5 connected to the casing.

In the drawings the door is shown closed, there now being pressure in the upper end of the cylinder and the lower end being connected to the exhaust. This is accomplished by thevalve which is new in the condition illustrated diagraminatically in Fig. 8 which illustrates the valve casing as having a rotatable plug 16 provided with suitable passages cooperating withsuitable ports in the casing. With the member 16 in the 4iofposition shown in Fig. 8, the pipe 'll and the air supply pipe are connected together and, the pipe 19 is connected to the exhaust pipe. Upon turning the valve member clockwise through an angle of ninety degrees, pipe connections are reversed ..45 so that pipe 15 receives air under pressure and pipe 'il exhausts. The movable member of the valve is adapted to be turned in one direction by a pedal Tl, and in the other direction by a spring 'i8 underlying the same. The spring may rest on a toe l!) projecting from a pivoted catch 8i! which is adapted to hook over apin 8| on the pedal when the pedal is pressed down. The spring thus serves both to raise the pedal when the latter is freed from the catch and to force the catch into its locking position when not restrained from doing so.

The catch may be tripped by the energization of the coil 83 of a solenoid whose core or plunger is indicated at 84. This solenoid is mounted on the under side of the receiving platform 3 and the lower end of the plunger thereof is connected to one end of a horizontal rocker member 85. From the other end of the rocker member depends a rod 86 whose lower end extends freely through a hole in a tail piece 81 projecting forwardly from the catch. On the rod, above the tail piece, is a nut 88 adapted to engage with the latter. While the solenoid remains deenergized, the tripping device has no eiect on the catch; but upon energizing the solenoid, the rod is forced down and the nut thereon presses the catch back into its release position. When that occurs, the spring pushes the pedal up and operates the valve into its door-raising position. As will here- 75. after `appear, the solenoid is energized when a motor stops.

Thus, when the motor stops, the catch associated with the valve '|2 isl tripped and the door is raised, permitting the work to be removed andA a new piece of work to be inserted in the cage. Then the operator need` only press the pedal down into the position indicated in Fig. 6 to cause the door to be closed and be held closed; the valve l2 being locked in the new position by the catch 3|!k until the solenoid is again energized.

Since there should be not jetting of cleaning fluids while the housing door is open, we provide a door-operated switch for controlling the motor. In fact, two of these switches are necessary, one operated by the door at the lower limit of its movement and the other when the door is up. The first of these two switches is indicated at 89. and the other at 90. Each of these switches has a movable member provided with a roller 9| adapted to be energized by a Z plate S2 on the door. Wheny the door is just about to become fully closed, the Z plate engages the roller of the lower switch 89 and actuates that switch. When the door reaches its upper limit the Z plate presses on the roller of the upper switch 96 and operates that one. The reason for having two of these limit switches will be apparent from an examination of Fig. l5 whichy is a wiring diagram identical with that in our last-mentioned application.

With `the various switches in the positions illustrated in Fig. 15, a circuit may be traced from one of the main line wires B through wire |651, solenoid |48, wire I 4'9,.switch |50, wire |5|, switch 89 and wire |53, back to the main line wire D; switch |56 being normally closed as will hereinafter be explained. Solenoid |43` operates the main motor switch |54, so that the motor is energized upon the closingA of the door.

After the motor has started, it continues tov run until a cyclev of jetting operations has been completed. Thereupon, the motor must stop, and the door be opened again. The switch 89, controlled by the door, does not open until the door itself has been opened,` and therefore, some other means must be provided to open the motor cir cuit. Accordingly, there is` secured on the rear end of the cam shaft 59 a radial arm 94, as best shown in Figs. '7, 11 and 12; and, mounted on astationary support in the same transverse plane` as the arm 94, isa switch provided with a lever or the like ending in a roller 96 which projects out far enough to be engaged by the outer end face of the arm S34-at a predetermined point in therotation of the cam shaft. The switch 95 is normally open as indicated in the diagram, and is closed by the action of the arm 94. This closing of the switch 95 occurs after the cam shaft has completed` the larger part of a revolution. From an inspection of the diagram, it will be seen that upon the` closingv of the switch 95, current flows. from line wire B through the same, through the coil |58V of a solenoid and through wires |59 andr |53 to line wire D. The core |60 of theV solenoid 58` is connected to the movable element of. the switch |59 and to the movable elements of.v a double switch |62 and |63. The energization of the solenoid 58 causes the switch |50A to` open, and the switchesV |62 and |63 to close. The energizing circuit for the main switch |54 of the motor'is now from line wire B, through wire |41, coil |48, wire |49, switch |62, a switch |613, which is inl itsY closedA position, through wire |65 and wire |53 to line wire D; Switch |64 is one member of a double switch whose other member is indicated at |66. Thus, the circuit for the motor switch is now independent of the switch 89 which is controlled by the door. The movable members of the switches |64 and |66 have a common operating arm or lever 91 arranged in the same plane as the arm 94 on the cam shaft. On the free end of the arm 91 is a roller 98 adapted to be engaged by the outer end of the arm 94. Normally, as indicated in the diagram, a spring |59 holds the arm 91 with its roller raised, so that the switch |64 is closed and the switch |66 is open. However, when the cam shaft is just about to complete a revolution, the arm 94 depresses the roller 98, so that the switches |64 and |66 are placed in the positions shown in the diagram and held in those positions because of the stopping of the motor. The motor stops because the switches |56, |62 and |63 remain in the positions which they occupied after the closing of the switch 95, even after that switch is again opened. Consequently, the opening of the switch |64 at the end of a revolution of the cam shaft causes the motor switch to be deenergized and open, because both of the energizing circuits for the main switch coil |43 are now open, one at the switch |50 and the other at the switch |64.

When the motor stops, it is time to open the door of the housing to permit the removal of the cylinder block which has been cleaned. This is accomplished by energizing the solenoid coil B3 and thus releasing the catch that locks the valve 12 in the door-closing position and permitting it automatically to return to its normal position which allows air to flow into the lower end of the door cylinder and thus raise the door to open the same. The circuit for energizing the coil 83 is from line wire B through wire |41, switch |63,

`svritch |66, coil 83, wire |1| and wire |53 to line wire D.

Since the motor cannot start again until the door is closed, at which time the circuit for the motor switch actuator can be completed only through the switch |59, means are provided to close this switch and open the switches |62 and |63 after the motor has stopped. To this end there is provided the second door-controlled switch 96.

In the diagram the switch 90 is illustrated as being closed when the door is up. It will thus be seen that current may now ilow from line wire B through wire |18, switch 90, wire |19, solenoid coil |80 and wire |59 to line wire D. In this way the coil |80 is energized and, the opposing coil |58 being deenergized because the switch 95 is open, the switches |56, |62 and |63 are shifted into the positions which they occupy in the diagram. The system is now ready to cause the motor to start Whenever the door is again closed and closes the switch 89.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple and novel apparatus by means of which a piece of work may be automatically cleaned, after being placed in a housing, by mechanism caused to operate through a predetermined cycle upon the pressing of a movable controlling member. Thus, the matter of cleaning a piece of work requires no attention or labor on the part of a workman than the placing of the work in and its removal from a housing, and the shifting of a lever or other manual controlling element from one position to another. It will also be seen that the cleaning may be done by the action of jets of two different fluids, or fluids possessing different characteristics, delivered one after the other. It will further be seen that the cleaning may be carried out while the piece of work is being turned over any desired number of times, thereby to get rid of liquid or other material that collects in pockets or chambers in the work and might otherwise remain there.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the denitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

IA claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing, a horizontal conduit extending through and rotatable in a wall of said housing, a cage within the housing and fixed at one end to said conduit, a ring having its center at the axis of rotation of said conduit surrounding and fixed to the other end of the cage, rollers in the housing below and forming a rolling support for the ring, jetting devices on the cage communicating with the interior of said conduit and positioned to discharge jets of cleaning fluid upon a piece of work in the cage, means to turn the cage, and means to deliver cleaning fluid to said conduit.

2. In combination, a housing having a door opening, a door for said opening, a cage in said housing, a reciprocable pneumatic actuator for said door, apparatus for cleaning work in said cage, a two-position valve for controlling the said i actuator to cause the latter to open the door in one position of the valve and to close the door when the valve is in the other of its positions, said valve tending constantly to assume one of its positions, a catch for holding the valve in the other of its positions, an electro-magnetic device to release the catch, and means controlled by said cleaning apparatus to cause said electromagnetic device to be energized.

3. In combination, a housing having a door,

pneumatic actuator for said door, apparatus for cleaning work in said housing, a two-position valve for controlling the said actuator to cause the latter to open the door in one position of the valve and to close the door when the valve is in the other of its positions, said valve tending constantly to assume one of its positions, a pedal to move the valve into the other of its positions, a catch for holding the pedal down, an electromagnetic device to release the catch, and means controlled by said cleaning apparatus to cause said electro-magnetic device to be energized.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a housing, a horizontal rotatable conduit extending from the exterior of the housing through the rear wall of the latter and terminating a short distance inwardly from said wall, a group of horizontal, parallel jetting pipes extending from front to rear of the housing around and spaced apart from the axis of said conduit extended, a metal framework surrounding and secured to said pipes to form with the latter a cage open at the front end, said pipes being rigidly connected at their rear ends to said conduit in a manner to receive fluids therefrom and to cause the rear end of the cage to be supported by said conduit, a ring having its center at the axis of rotation of said conduit surrounding and xed to the front end of the cage, a bearing in the housing for the ring to support the front end of the cage, means to turn end of the cage communicating with said pipes the conduit, and means to deliver cleaning uid to supply cleaning uid thereto and guides in the to said conduit. cage for engaging with the Work to hold it against 5. In an apparatus of the character described, rotary movements relatively to the cage about the a cage open at one end and including a group of axis of said journal While permitting it to move 5 horizontal pipes provided with jetting devices into and out of the cage through said open end. adapted to discharge cleaning uid upon a piece of Work in the cage, a hollow journal at the other FRED C. AREY. 

